And then there were eight.
Yes, the GardenRant roster of “Voices” is welcoming its eighth regular blogger, another strong voice in the U.K. He’s professional gardener and botanical communicator, Ben Probert.
Our Ranter in Wales, Anne Wareham, knew of him and had published his ‘Identity Crisis’ post on her blog. There he introduced himself:
Let me introduce myself; I’m Ben, and I’m a gardener.
Not a horticulturist, a gardener.
I love what I do. I’m passionate about what I do. I’m not ‘passionate’ like some companies are ‘passionate about your photocopying needs’ or ‘passionate about personal finance’. I’m passionate in that I love my work, do gardening at home, read about plants and gardens, write about plants and gardens, learn about plants, gardens, pests etc… I live and breathe what I do.
He describes working in “some absolutely beautiful gardens around Devon and Cornwall. I’m happy, and my customers like what I’m doing.”
Anne recommended Ben as “modest, knowledgeable, thoughtful, observant, communicative and a professional. Lucky the people he works for.”
And lucky our GardenRant audience, because we all agreed. Above all things, this blog is known for strong, independent voices who are more than occasionally willing to shine a light on tough issues, orthodoxies, and influence, and get the conversation started — no matter where it ends up. It’s not controversy for the sake of it, it’s conversation for the sake of it, and we all thrive on it. We’re thrilled that Ben, like Anne, has found his American tribe and we look forward to his perspective. “The minute I read his draft post cleverly separating galanthophiles from galanthomaniacs I was on board.” said Ranter Marianne Willburn.
Ben will be posting twice-monthly here AND for more of his botanical photos and wisdom you can follow Ben’s Botanics on Instagram. Ranter Allen Bush has followed him there for a while and concludes that “He’s passionate, knowledgeable and doesn’t appear to pull punches.”
Obvious Rant material. Please join us in giving him a hearty Rant welcome!
Glad to hear you’re a gardener. I’m a gardener too. Not a landscape architect or garden designer. One that works over the seasons in the same space creating wonderful places.
Thank you for your comment. I think being a gardener is something to be proud of, and I hope to bring some of that with me to GardenRant.
Great to have you on here, Ben.
Thank you Anne; I’m delighted to be here.
Welcome, welcome!
Thank you very much Tibs!
So glad that the ranter world is expanding to include more international voices.
I’m excited to be here! It will be interesting from my point of view to engage with gardeners from other parts of the world. British gardening can feel rather stale at times, as though it’s the same people saying the same things. I’m delighted to be able to share my words with you all, and I look forward to future discussions in the comments.